President Calls Participants of the 30th Annual March for Life on the National Mall

11:05 A.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Nellie. I want to thank you very
much for including me in the celebration of life. I want to thank the
good folks there on the Mall today. I'm calling you from St. Louis,
Missouri. I know there are some from Missouri there and, like many
others, you've made great sacrifices to come to Washington today. A lot
of you have ridden buses all night long and I know you're braving the
cold. And I admire your perseverance and I admire your devotion to the
cause of life.

You all are gathered today on the National Mall, which is not far
from the monument to Thomas Jefferson who, as you all know, is author
of our Declaration of Independence. And the March for Life upholds the
self-evident truth of that Declaration -- that all are created equal,
given the unalienable rights of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. And that principle of America needs defenders in every
place and every generation.

In our time, respect for the right to life calls us to defend the
sick and the dying, persons with disabilities and birth defects, and
all who are weak and vulnerable. And this self-evident truth calls us
to value and to protect the lives of innocent children waiting to be
born. (Applause.)

You and I share a commitment to building a culture of life in
America, and we're making progress. As the President, I have signed the
Born Alive Infants Protection Act, opposed the destruction of embryos
for stem cell research, and refused to spend taxpayer money on
international programs that promote abortion overseas. (Applause.)

MS. GRAY: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: My administration is challenging the Oregon law that
permits physician-assisted suicide. (Applause.)

MS. GRAY: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: We support abstinence education, and crisis
pregnancy programs, and parental notification laws. We offer
compassionate alternatives to abortion by promoting adoption and
extending state health care coverage for unborn children.

My hope is that the United States Congress will pass a bill this
year banning partial-birth abortion, which I will sign. (Applause.)
Partial-birth abortion is an abhorrent procedure that offends human
dignity. I also urge the Congress to ban all human cloning. We must not
create life to destroy life. Human beings are not research material to
be used in a cruel and reckless experiment. (Applause.) For 30 years,
the March for Life has been sustained by constant prayer and abiding
hope, that one day, every child will be born into a family that loves
that child and a nation that protects that child. And when that day
arrives, you will have the gratitude of millions -- especially those
who know the gift of life because you cared and you kept faith. May God
bless you all and may God continue to bless America.